Public Service Job Summit Framework Agreement (Summary)

University of the North, Pietersburg
29 - 31 January 2001

Background

The Public Service Job Summit was a result of the 1998 Presidential Job Summit, which called for various sectors of the economy to convene their own conferences. This Summit, which resulted in the agreement outlined hereunder, was convened for the Public Service under the auspices of the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC).

Government’s Position

The Government is deeply committed to the agreement. In his State of the Nation Address the President reiterated this commitment when he said "the parties acknowledge that they share a common commitment to a broader interest of serving the South African nation. Accordingly, the parties record their commitment to respect in words and deeds one another, and to live by the spirit and letter of this agreement which shall govern the objectives, principles, and procedures for the management of transformation process". The president continued to say "the Government applauds these sentiments and commits itself to honour the agreement it has entered into".

The Minister for Public Service and Administration said, "as parties, we acknowledge that we share a common commitment to a broader interest in serving the South African nation. There is a team of approximately one million public servants employed to deliver services, and this should be done in an effective, efficient and productive manner. The signing of the agreement demonstrates this".

Framework Agreement

The parties to the Public Service Job Summit declared and committed themselves to the implementation of the principles and objectives set out in the framework agreement.

Preamble

Public Service Job Summit sat at a time when the challenge of managing transformation in the Public Service was facing everyone. Government and Labour are faced with the task of transforming the Public Service so that there is an improvement in the conditions of service, efficiency, quality of employment, and service delivery.

The parties acknowledged that they share a common commitment to a broader interest of serving the South African nation. The agreement shall govern the objectives, principles, and procedures for the management of the transformation process.

Government and Labour agreed that the realisation of the strategic objectives of economic policy requires that the leadership is able to carry out a wide range of structural reforms in both the economic and social dimensions of the economy. These reforms will be guided by the following four pillars of a job creation programme in the Public Service as adopted by the Presidential Jobs Summit:-

1. Job creation in the sectors of the Public Service,
2. Labour Market/Human Resource Development for job creation,
3. Special employment programmes,
4. Job creation in the integrated provincial projects,

Framework Agreement For The Transformation And Restructuring Of The Public Service

Parties agreed that there should be a restructuring framework and its details must be outlined by the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) process. The framework will give direction to the entire Public Service on the process of restructuring.

Principles Underpinning The Transformation And Restructuring Process

The parties agree that the transformation and restructuring of the Public Service must, among others, seek to:

1. Protect and create quality employment within the Public Service.
2. Improve delivery of services to the community, enhancing productivity and performance of the Public Service to meet the national objectives.
3. Be conducted in a joint, open, and consultative way amongst all stakeholders.
4. Ensure that the redeployment of personnel will take place in terms of the Job Summit framework and further agreement to be negotiated in the PSCBC.
5. Ensure that the Public Service remains the provider of services that constitute the social wage, in order to meet the needs of the poor, and also provide a foundation for development.
6. Actively search for ways to enhance existing services and assets to increase the capacity of the state to provide these services.
7. Improve the skills base of the Public Service and in this regard ensure that the Public Service remains a primary source for such training.
8. Enhance greater equity in distribution of incomes and wealth.

Procedures And Processes To Govern The Transformation And Restructuring Process At Departmental, Sectoral And Central PSCBC Level.

In order to manage the transformation and restructuring process in a way that strengthens relationship between and ensures maximum co-operation and buy-in from all stakeholders, the parties agree to the following procedures to govern the process at PSCBC level:

FLOWCHART: TRANSFORMATION AND RESTRUCTURING OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE

The PSCBC, through its structures, shall assist in the process of implementation of the framework.

Way Forward

The 2001 Public Service Job Summit puts transformation of the Public Service on the Agenda. The Declaration outlines a number of challenges for the Public Service. To meet these challenges it requires co-operation of all parties to take issue contained in this agreement into implementation phase. We believe that the spirit demonstrated in this Summit will prevail throughout the processes that will follow. The ultimate measure of success is a transformed Public Service.